Dangers due to hygiene deficiencies in clinics

Hospitals should be examined more strictly

05/18/2013

In German hospitals, there are up to 225,000 wound infections after operations with up to 15,000 deaths per year. Lack of hygiene is one of the biggest dangers. This should now be countered with better quality assurance.

Counteract the high risk of infection in hospitals
According to the health authorities, up to 600,000 people in Germany suffer from an infection with the so-called hospital germs every year during their stay in the hospital. Although there are up to 225,000 wound infections per year after surgery, not only in the operating theater but also during the visit, the wound inspections and the hospital as a whole, the hygiene regulations should be strictly enforced. The more than 2,000 hospitals in Germany must, according to persistent criticism, provide more comprehensive information on hygiene, for example. For this purpose, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) of health insurances, doctors and clinics has now decided on new rules for the obligatory quality reports of the hospitals. In the future, among other things, more differentiated information on the employed hygiene specialists will be required. Since infections that patients get in the clinic are a big risk, more efforts must be made to reduce this problem. Therefore, the reports detailing treatment outcomes and problems will be presented annually rather than every two years. However, the head of the Center for Health Economics (University of Hamburg), Jonas Schreyögg, said: „Overall, self-reports - and the quality reports consist mainly of self-reports - are critical. "

Objective control would be useful
For some of the reports, it would be better to have the cash register data evaluated by an objective third party, such as Stiftung Warentest or the Verbraucherschutzzentrale, and then to prepare it for each clinic. Thus, the hospitals would be relieved of bureaucracy and patients would have a good basis to make their decisions. Schreyögg also said that such data are more meaningful in many diseases. Hospitals have been required to publish their quality reports regularly since 2005. These data can then be evaluated by the health insurance companies and recommendations for insured persons can be made. With its new decision, the G-BA also made it clear that hospitals providing services at different locations now have to submit a report for each individual branch. (Sb)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann